The Carol Burnett Show—The Lost Episodes: Treasures from the Vault

Carol Burnett's multi-Emmy-Award-winning variety show was eclipsed in the late 1970s by Saturday Night Live, which skewed younger and was more irreverently attuned to the times. Lorne Michaels reportedly laid down the law to the SNL writers that he didn't want sketches to be “too Carol Burnett.” But over four decades later, Carol gets the last laugh, as these 15 episodes from the 1967-72 first five seasons of The Carol Burnett Show—not seen since their original broadcast due to legal hassles—arguably tend to hold up better than SNL's earliest shows. As with Your Show of Shows, The Carol Burnett Show endures in large part because the sketches are primarily character-driven and not topical in ways that would date them. And the original ensemble—Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner—was lightning in a bottle. This second set of “lost” episodes contains some of the series' signature early recurring sketches, such as “The Old Folks,” “Carol and Sis,” and the very first, the soap opera parody As the Stomach Turns. The unearthed treasures here are the musical production numbers—such as a tribute to the Warner Bros. studio—that were cut when the show went into syndication. Guest stars include a very game Jonathan Winters, Joan Rivers, Sonny & Cher, Nanette Fabray, Martha Raye, Mel Torme, Art Carney, and Gwen Verdon. The copious extras include bonus sketches, behind-the-scenes featurettes, outtakes, and interviews with friends of the show (Pat Boone, Vikki Carr, Burt Reynolds) and Carol admirers (Tina Fey). Also included is an episode of the series that launched Burnett's TV career, The Garry Moore Show. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)